PVP4Grid examines prosumer concepts across Europe

The “PVP4Grid” research project has published an initial review of the frameworks for the individual and collective consumption of solar power in various European countries. The EU-funded project examined the regulatory framework of Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Portugal, as the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) reported on Tuesday.

Self-consumption for PV systems is permitted in all countries examined. After all, the joint use of photovoltaic systems in a building is now permitted in five countries. Only in Belgium, Italy and Spain is it explicitly prohibited. The supply of photovoltaic electricity at the district level is only legally possible and economically feasible in France and the Netherlands, the authors of the report reveals. The potential that the various prosumer concepts could bring to photovoltaics depends on the prevailing subsidy mechanisms.

According to German consulting firm Eclarion, which has written the report about Germany, obstacles to the implementation of the various prosumer concepts in Germany include the sinking feed-in tariffs currently still in force. Furthermore, the electricity tax, which must be paid for plants over 2 MW, and the EEG levy on own and direct consumption are listed as factors preventing solar self-consumption to become a concrete option. Furthermore, the criterion of spatial proximity or technical requirements such as the remote controllability of the generators complicate such projects in Germany.

“The analysis of existing framework conditions in the individual countries represents an important basis for the further work of PVP4Grid,” said BSW-Solar CEO Dr. Carsten Körnig. “PVP4Grid” started in October 2017. The research project will run until March 2020. A total of eleven partners from European countries are involved. BSW-Solar coordinates the project. “The goal of the international project is to contribute to the development of improved prosumer concepts and to the dissemination of solar power consumption near to consumption,” continues Carsten Körnig.